Battery system and slave battery management system

ABSTRACT

The present invention includes a battery system including a battery pack having a metal housing capable of accommodating a plurality of battery modules, a plurality of slave battery management systems configured to manage the plurality of battery modules, and a master battery management system installed outside the metal housing to wirelessly communicate with a first battery management system among the plurality of slave battery management systems, wherein the first slave battery management system which communicates with the master battery management system is installed at a boundary of the metal housing so as not to be shielded with the metal housing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2019-0013793, filed on Feb. 1, 2019, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a battery system and slave batterymanagement system for performing wireless communication between a slavebattery management system and a master battery management system.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, research and development of secondary batteries has beenactively carried out. Here, the secondary batteries, which arerechargeable batteries, represent all of conventional Ni/Cd batteriesand Ni/MH batteries and up-to-date lithium ion batteries. The lithiumbatteries among those secondary batteries have the merit of high energydensity compared to the conventional Ni/Cd batteries or Ni/MH batteries.Furthermore, the lithium ion batteries can be made small in size andlight in weight, and are thus used as power sources of mobile devices.Moreover, since the scope of use of the lithium ion batteries extend topower sources of electric vehicles, the lithium ion batteries attractattention as next-generation energy storage media.

A secondary battery is typically used as a battery pack including abattery module in which a plurality of battery cells are connected inseries or in parallel. The state and operation of the battery pack aremanaged and controlled by a battery management system (BMS).

The battery management system of a battery system including a pluralityof battery packs may include a master battery management system and aplurality of slave battery management systems. The master batterymanagement system communicates with an upper-level system to control theoperation of the plurality of slave battery management systems.

Recently, such a master battery management system and a plurality ofslave battery management systems wirelessly transmit/receive signals.However, when performing wireless communication between a master batterymanagement system and a slave battery management system in a vehiclebattery management system, the communication may be unstable if a lineof sight (LOS) is not secured between the master battery managementsystem and the slave battery management system. Furthermore, when themaster battery management system or the slave battery management systemis shielded with a metal material, wireless communication therebetweenmay be unstable.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

An object of the present invention is to smoothly perform wirelesscommunication between a master battery management system and a slavebattery management system when implementing a wireless communication BMSin which a LOS cannot be secured or a shielding metal material ispresent between the master battery management system and the slavebattery management system.

Technical Solution

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided abattery system including: a battery pack having a metal housing capableof accommodating a plurality of battery modules; a plurality of slavebattery management systems configured to manage the plurality of batterymodules; and a master battery management system installed outside themetal housing to wirelessly communicate with a first battery managementsystem among the plurality of slave battery management systems, whereinthe first slave battery management system which communicates with themaster battery management system is installed at a boundary of the metalhousing so as not to be shielded with the metal housing.

In the battery system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, a plurality of other slave battery management systems otherthan the first slave battery management system are arranged and shieldedin the metal housing.

In the battery system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, a first antenna for wirelessly communicating with theplurality of slave battery management systems arranged in the metalhousing is installed in a portion of the first slave battery managementsystem, which is arranged in the metal housing, and a second antenna forwirelessly communicating with the master battery management system isinstalled in a portion of the slave battery management system, which isarranged outside the metal housing.

In the battery system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, the first slave battery management system communicates withthe plurality of other slave battery management systems arranged in themetal housing through a channel selected by frequency hopping.

In the battery system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, the first slave battery management system communicates withthe master battery management system through a single channel or achannel selected by frequency hopping.

In the battery system according to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the first slave battery management system communicates withthe plurality of other slave battery management systems arranged in themetal housing through a single channel, and communicates with the masterbattery management system through a channel selected by frequencyhopping.

The battery system according to an embodiment or another embodiment ofthe present invention is installed in a vehicle.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda slave battery management system included in a battery pack having ametal housing capable of accommodating a plurality of battery modules,the slave battery management system including: a first communicationunit configured to receive a signal from a plurality of other slavebattery management systems arranged in the metal housing; a secondcommunication unit configured to receive a signal from a master batterymanagement unit arranged outside the metal housing; a communicationcontrol unit configured to individually control the first communicationunit and the second communication unit so that the second communicationunit transmits a signal received from the plurality of other slavebattery management systems to the master battery management system andthe first communication unit transmits a signal received from the masterbattery management system to at least one of the plurality of otherslave battery management systems; and a battery management unitconfigured to manage at least one of the plurality of battery modules,wherein the slave battery management system is installed at a boundaryof the metal housing.

In the slave battery management system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, the communication control unit controls so as totransmit/receive a signal to/from the plurality of other slave batterymanagement systems through a channel selected by frequency hopping.

In the slave battery management system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, the communication control unit controls so as totransmit/receive a signal to/from the master battery management systemthrough a single channel or a channel selected by frequency hopping.

In the slave battery management system according to another embodimentof the present invention, the communication control unit controls so asto communicate with the plurality of other slave battery managementsystems through a single channel and communicate with the master batterymanagement system through a channel selected by frequency hopping.

In the slave battery management system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, a first antenna for wirelessly transmitting/receivinga signal to/from the plurality of other slave battery management systemsarranged in the metal housing is installed as the first communicationunit in a portion of the slave battery management system, which isarranged in the metal housing, and a second antenna for wirelesslytransmitting/receiving a signal to/from the master battery managementsystem is installed as the second communication unit in a portion of theslave battery management system, which is arranged outside the metalhousing.

In the slave battery management system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, the plurality of other slave battery managementsystems arranged in the metal housing are capable of communicating withthe master battery management system only via the slave batterymanagement system.

In the slave battery management system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, the slave battery management system is mounted in avehicle.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda communication method by a slave battery management system installed ata boundary of a metal housing of a battery pack, the metal housingaccommodating a plurality of battery modules, the communication methodincluding the steps of: measuring a state of at least one of theplurality of battery modules; transmitting/receiving a signal to/fromeach of a plurality of other slave battery management systems installedin the metal housing; and transmitting/receiving a signal to/from amaster battery management system installed outside the metal housing,wherein when transmitting a signal to the master battery managementsystem, a signal received from the plurality of other slave batterymanagement systems and a signal related to the measured state aretransmitted together.

In the communication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, in the step of transmitting/receiving a signal to/from eachof the plurality of other slave battery management systems, the signalis transmitted/received to/from the plurality of other slave batterymanagement systems through a channel selected by frequency hopping.

In the communication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, in the step of transmitting/receiving a signal to/from themaster battery management system, the signal is transmitted/receivedto/from the master battery management system through a single channel ora channel selected by frequency hopping.

In the communication method according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, in the step of transmitting/receiving a signalto/from each of the plurality of other slave battery management systems,the signal is transmitted/received to/from the plurality of other slavebattery management systems through a single channel, and, in the step oftransmitting/receiving a signal to/from the master battery managementsystem, the signal is transmitted/received through a channel selected byfrequency hopping.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, even when a slave battery managementsystem is shielded with a metal housing, the slave battery managementsystem can stably perform wireless communication with a master batterymanagement system without an additional configuration.

Furthermore, wireless communication which is robust against externalsignal interference can be performed between the slave batterymanagement system and the master battery management system of thepresent invention by using frequency hopping.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a batterycontrol system.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a battery systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a slave batterymanagement system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a communication sequence over timebetween a slave battery management system, another slave batterymanagement system, and a master battery management system with regard toa communication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a frequency hopping code with regard toa communication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram illustrating a battery systemaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of abattery management system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.However, it should be understood that the present invention is notlimited to specific embodiments, but rather includes variousmodifications, equivalents and/or alternatives of various embodiments ofthe present invention. Regarding description of the drawings, likereference numerals may refer to like elements.

The terminology used herein is only used for describing specificembodiments and is not intended to limit the scope of other embodiments.The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unless otherwisespecified. The terms used herein, including technical or scientificterms, have the same meanings as understood by those skilled in the art.Commonly-used terms defined in a dictionary may be interpreted as havingmeanings that are the same as or similar to contextual meanings definedin the related art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized oroverly formal sense unless otherwise defined explicitly. Depending oncases, even the terms defined herein should not be such interpreted asto exclude various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The terms “first”, “second”, “A”, “B”, “(a)”, “(b)” and the like may beused herein to describe elements of the embodiments of the presentinvention. However, the terms are only used to distinguish one elementfrom other elements, and the attributes or order of the elements are notlimited by the terms. It will be understood that when an element isreferred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it canbe directly connected or coupled to the other element, or interveningelements may be present.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically illustrating a batterycontrol system including a battery pack 10 and an upper-level controller2 included in an upper-level system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the battery pack 10 includes a battery module300 including at least one battery cell and capable of beingcharged/discharged, a switching unit 220 connected in series to apositive terminal side or negative terminal side of the battery module300 to control a charging/discharging current flow of the battery module300, and a battery management system (BMS) 114, which monitors avoltage, current, temperature, and the like of the battery pack 10 toprevent overcharge and overdischarge.

Here, the switching unit 220 may use a semiconductor switching elementfor controlling a current flow for charging or discharging the batterymodule 300, for example, at least one MOSFET. In detail, the switchingunit 220 may include a charging switching element 220-1, which iscontrolled to be on at the time of charging, and a discharging switchingelement 220-2, which is controlled to be on at the time of charging.However, this is merely an example, and thus, the switching unit 220 isnot limited to a MOSFET, and a relay or the like may be used instead.

Furthermore, the BMS 114 may measure or calculate a voltage and currentof a gate, source, and drain of the semiconductor switching element tomonitor the voltage, current, temperature, and the like of the batterypack 10, and may measure the current of the battery pack using a currentsensor 240 arranged adjacent to the semiconductor switching element. TheBMS 114 may include, as an interface for receiving an input ofmeasurement values of the above-described various parameters, aplurality of terminals T1-T5 and a circuit connected to the terminals toprocess input values.

Furthermore, the BMS 114 may connect terminals T6 and T7 to a gateterminal of each MOSFET to control ON/OFF of the MOSFET, and may beconnected to the battery module 300 to monitor a state of the batterymodule 300.

Since the configuration of the battery pack 10 and the configuration ofthe BMS 114 described above are known, more detailed descriptions arenot provided.

Furthermore, the BMS 114 according to embodiments of the presentinvention may be connected to the upper-level controller 20. Operationof the BMS 114 may be controlled on the basis of a signal applied fromthe upper-level controller 20.

Hereinafter, a method of communication between the battery managementsystem 114 and another battery management system will be described indetail.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a battery system 1according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The battery system 1 includes the battery pack 10 including a pluralityof slave battery management systems 100 to 108, and a master batterymanagement system 114.

To manage a state and performance of a battery, when the master batterymanagement system 114 receives an operation command from an upper-levelcontrol unit, the master battery management unit 114 transmits anoperation command signal to a slave battery management system that is alower-level battery management system. The operation command signalincludes all signals related to the state and performance of a battery.The slave battery management system which has received the operationcommand signal performs an operation for a battery module being managed,for example, battery charging/discharging, battery state check, or thelike. Furthermore, when the slave battery management system hasperformed the battery state check or the like, the slave batterymanagement system transmits data related to the battery state check tothe master battery management system.

The plurality of slave battery management systems 100 to 108 manage aplurality of battery modules. One slave battery management system 108among the plurality of slave battery management systems is installed ata boundary of a metal housing of the battery pack 10.

Furthermore, the other slave battery management systems among theplurality of slave battery management systems are installed in the metalhousing of the battery pack 10.

The slave battery management systems 100 to 106 installed in the metalhousing are shielded, and thus it is difficult for the slave batterymanagement systems 100 to 106 to directly wirelessly communicate withthe master battery management system 114.

Therefore, the one slave battery management system 108 among theplurality of slave battery management systems is installed at a boundaryof the metal housing to serve as a relay for performing wirelesscommunication between the other slave battery management systems 100 to106 and the master battery management system 114.

In detail, the slave battery management system 108 is installed at aboundary of the metal housing of the battery pack 10 so that a firstportion of the slave battery management system 108 is disposed in themetal housing, and a second portion of the slave battery managementsystem 108 is disposed outside the metal housing.

Accordingly, since the slave battery management system 108 installed ata boundary of the metal housing of the battery pack 10 is not shieldedby the metal housing, the slave battery management system 108 maytransmit/receive signals through wireless communication with the otherslave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in the metalhousing, and may also transmit/receive signals through wirelesscommunication with the master battery management system 114 arrangedoutside the metal housing.

The slave battery management system 108 installed at a boundary of themetal housing of the battery pack 10 includes a first antenna 110, whichis installed in the first portion arranged in the housing to wirelesslytransmit/receive signals to/from the other slave battery managementsystems 100 to 106.

Furthermore, the slave battery management system 108 installed at aboundary of the metal housing of the battery pack 10 includes a secondantenna 112, which is installed in the second portion arranged outsidethe housing to wirelessly transmit/receive signals to/from the masterbattery management system 114.

The slave battery management system 108 receives, from the other slavebattery management systems 100 to 106, a signal through a channelselected by frequency hopping.

In detail, the slave battery management system 108 receives or transmitsa signal from/to the slave battery management system 100 by performingfrequency hopping for a short time using a predetermined first hoppingcode. Here, the hopping code is a code set to transmit/receive signalswhile changing a preset frequency according to a preset time between twodevices which transmit/receive signals.

Furthermore, the slave battery management system 108 receives ortransmits a signal from/to the slave battery management system 102 byperforming frequency hopping for a short time using a predeterminedsecond hopping code.

Furthermore, the slave battery management system 108 receives ortransmits a signal from/to the slave battery management system 104 byperforming frequency hopping for a short time using a predeterminedthird hopping code.

Furthermore, the slave battery management system 108 receives ortransmits a signal from/to the slave battery management system 106 byperforming frequency hopping for a short time using a predetermined nthhopping code.

The first to nth hopping codes are set in advance so as to preventfrequencies from overlapping at the same time.

As described above, the slave battery management system 108 may usefrequency hopping when transmitting/receiving signals to/from the otherslave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in the metalhousing so as to perform communication that is robust against externalinterference.

Furthermore, the slave battery management system 108 transmits signalsreceived from each of the slave battery management systems 100 to 106via a channel selected by frequency hopping to the master batterymanagement system 114 via a single channel or a channel selected byfrequency hopping. Here, an operation of transmitting signals from theslave battery management system 108 to the master battery managementsystem 114 may be performed at a frequency that is different from afrequency used for communication between the slave battery managementsystem 108 and the other slave battery management systems 100 to 106.Alternatively, the operation of transmitting signals from the slavebattery management system 108 to the master battery management system114 may be performed at a timing that is different from a signaltransmission timing between the slave battery management system 108 andthe other slave battery management systems 100 to 106. Data packets of asignal transmitted from the slave battery management system 108 to themaster battery management system 114 may be the same as data packetstransmitted from the other slave battery management systems 100 to 106to the slave battery management system 108, and vice versa.

That is, even when the master battery management system 114 transmitsvarious signals such as an operation command signal and the like to theslave battery management systems 100 to 106, the slave batterymanagement systems 100 to 106 may be unable to receive the signals fromthe master battery management system 114 due to shielding by the metalhousing, communication shadow, or the like. Therefore, the slave batterymanagement system 108 may receive, from the master battery managementsystem 114, a signal through a single channel or a channel selected byfrequency hopping. The slave battery management system 108 which hasreceived a signal from the master battery management system 114 may useeach of the first hopping code to the nth hopping code to transmitsignals to the other slave battery management systems 100 to 106 througha channel selected by frequency hopping. Likewise, an operation oftransmitting signals from the slave battery management system 108 to theother slave battery management systems 100 to 106 may be performed at afrequency that is different from a frequency at which the master batterymanagement system 114 transmits signals to the slave battery managementsystem 108. Alternatively, the operation of transmitting signals fromthe slave battery management system 108 to the other slave batterymanagement systems 100 to 106 may be performed at a timing that isdifferent from a signal transmission timing between the slave batterymanagement system 108 and the master battery management system 114.Furthermore, data packets of a signal transmitted from the slave batterymanagement system 108 to the other slave battery management systems 100to 106 may be the same as data packets transmitted from the masterbattery management system 114 to the slave battery management system108.

However, the slave battery management system 108 and the plurality ofslave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in the metalhousing of the battery pack 10 may be implemented so as totransmit/receive signals through a single channel, considering thatinterference by an external channel is low due to shielding by metal.Therefore, since communication is performed through a single channel inthe metal housing, implementation of this configuration is easy.

However, even in this case, signals are transmitted/received through achannel selected by frequency hopping between the slave batterymanagement system 108 and the master battery management system 114 inorder to prevent interference by other signals.

The battery system described above may be mounted, for example, in avehicle. That is, the battery system may be a vehicle battery system.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating the slave batterymanagement system 108 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

The slave battery management system 108 includes a first communicationunit 302, a second communication unit 304, a communication control unit306, a control unit 308, and a battery management unit 310.

A signal is received from the plurality of slave battery managementsystems 100 to 106 arranged in the metal housing of the battery pack 10via the first communication unit 302.

The first communication unit 302 receives a signal through a channelselected by preset frequency hopping from the plurality of slave batterymanagement systems 100 to 106 arranged in the metal housing.

For example, the first communication unit 302 receives a signal from theslave battery management system 100 by performing frequency hopping fora short time using a predetermined first hopping code.

Furthermore, the first communication unit 302 receives a signal from theslave battery management system 102 by performing frequency hopping fora short time using a predetermined second hopping code.

Furthermore, the first communication unit 302 receive a signal from theslave battery management system 104 by performing frequency hopping fora short time using a predetermined third hopping code.

Furthermore, the first communication unit 302 receives a signal from theslave battery management system 106 by performing frequency hopping fora short time using a predetermined nth hopping code.

The first to nth hopping codes are set in advance so as to preventfrequencies from overlapping at the same time.

The second communication unit 304 receives, from the master batterymanagement system 114, a signal through a single channel or a channelselected by frequency hopping.

The first communication unit 302 transmits signals received from each ofthe plurality of slave battery management systems 100 to 106 via achannel selected by frequency hopping to the master battery managementsystem 114 via a single channel or a channel selected by frequencyhopping.

Furthermore, the second communication unit 304 transmits a signalreceived from the master battery management system 114 through a singlechannel or a channel selected by frequency hopping to at least one ofthe plurality of slave battery management systems 100 to 106 through achannel selected by frequency hopping.

The communication control unit 306 controls the first communication unit302 so as to transmit/receive signals to/from the plurality of slavebattery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in the metal housingthrough a channel selected by frequency hopping using a preset hoppingcode.

Furthermore, the communication control unit 306 controls the secondcommunication unit 304 so as to transmit/receive signals to/from themaster battery management system 114 through a single channel or achannel selected by frequency hopping.

The communication control unit 306 may individually control the firstcommunication unit 302 and the second communication unit 304. That is,the communication control unit 306 may individually performcommunication between the first communication unit 302 and the pluralityof slave battery management systems 100 to 106 and communication betweenthe second communication unit 304 and the master battery managementsystem 114. In other words, operation of the first communication unit302 and operation of the second communication unit 304 may be performedsimultaneously or at different timings.

The first communication unit 302 may also receive a signal from theplurality of slave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in themetal housing through a single channel.

In this case, the second communication unit 304 may receive a signalfrom the master battery management system 114 arranged outside the metalhousing through a channel selected by frequency hopping.

Furthermore, the second communication unit 304 may transmit a signalreceived from the plurality of slave battery management systems 100 to106 arranged in the metal housing through a single channel to the masterbattery management system 114 arranged outside the metal housing througha channel selected by frequency hopping.

Furthermore, the first communication unit 302 may transmit a signalreceived from the master battery management system 114 arranged outsidethe metal housing through a channel selected by frequency hopping to atleast one of the plurality of slave battery management systems 100 to106 arranged in the metal housing through a single channel.

The control unit 308 controls each of the first communication unit 302,the second communication unit 304, the communication control unit 306,and the battery management unit 310.

The battery management unit 310 manages at least one of a plurality ofbattery modules.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according toan embodiment of the present invention.

A signal is received by the first antenna 110 from the plurality ofslave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in the metalhousing of the battery pack 10 through a channel selected by frequencyhopping (S400).

The second antenna 112 transmits a received signal to the master batterymanagement system 114 through a single channel or a channel selected byfrequency hopping (S402).

Although not illustrated, the same signal delivery may be performed inthe case where signals are transmitted from the master batterymanagement system 114 to the slave battery management systems 100 to106.

A signal is received by the second antenna 112 from the master batterymanagement system 114 arranged outside the metal housing of the batterypack 10 through a single channel or a channel selected by frequencyhopping.

The first antenna 110 transmits a received signal to at least one of theplurality of slave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in themetal housing through a channel selected by frequency hopping.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

A signal is received by the first antenna 110 from the plurality ofslave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in the metalhousing of the battery pack 10 through a single channel (S500).

The second antenna 112 transmits a received signal to the master batterymanagement system 114 through a channel selected by frequency hopping(S502).

Although not illustrated, the same signal delivery may be performed inthe case where signals are transmitted from the master batterymanagement system 114 to the slave battery management systems 100 to106.

A signal is received by the second antenna 112 from the master batterymanagement system 114 arranged outside the metal housing of the batterypack 10 through a channel selected by frequency hopping.

The first antenna 110 transmits a received signal to at least one of theplurality of slave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in themetal housing through a single channel.

Although FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate an operation of transmitting signalsfrom the slave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in thehousing to the master battery management system 114 via the slavebattery management system 108, an embodiment is not limited thereto.Those skilled in the art could clearly understand that the masterbattery management system 114 may transmit a signal to the other slavebattery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in the housing via theslave battery management system 108, even when the master batterymanagement system 114 transmits a signal to the slave battery managementsystems 100 to 108 as described above with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a communication sequence over timebetween a slave battery management system, another slave batterymanagement system, and a master battery management system with regard toa communication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

With regard to the slave battery management system 108, a channelthrough which a signal is received may be differently set for each time.Furthermore, a channel received from each slave battery managementsystem may also be preset and changed.

FIG. 7 illustrates a frequency hopping code with regard to acommunication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, signals may be transmitted or received to orfrom a plurality of slave battery management systems or a master batterymanagement system through a channel selected by frequency hopping usinga preset hopping code.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram illustrating a battery systemaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

The battery system according to the present embodiment has the sameconfiguration as the battery system according to the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2 except for a relay 118. Thus, descriptions will beprovided with a focus on a different configuration.

The relay 118 may be, for example, a repeater or an amplifier. The relay118 is installed at a boundary of the metal housing of the battery pack10.

A first portion of the relay 118 is arranged in the metal housing, and asecond portion of the relay 118 is arranged outside the metal housing.

Accordingly, since the relay 118 installed at a boundary of the metalhousing of the battery pack 10 is not shielded by the metal housing, therelay 118 may transmit/receive signals through wireless communicationwith the other slave battery management systems 100 to 106 arranged inthe metal housing, and may also transmit/receive signals throughwireless communication with the master battery management system 114arranged outside the metal housing.

The relay 118 installed at a boundary of the metal housing of thebattery pack 10 includes a first antenna 110, which is installed in thefirst portion arranged in the housing to wirelessly transmit/receivesignals to/from the other slave battery management systems 100 to 106.

Furthermore, the relay 118 installed at a boundary of the metal housingof the battery pack 10 includes a second antenna 122, which is installedin the second portion arranged outside the housing to wirelesslytransmit/receive signals to/from the master battery management system114.

The relay 118 transmits/receives signals to/from the plurality of slavebattery management systems 100 to 106 arranged in the metal housing andthe master battery management system 114 through a single channel ineach case.

An additional relay 118 may be installed to use multiple channels.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of abattery management system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

A battery management system 900 may be provided with a microcontroller(MCU) 910, which controls various processes and each configuration, amemory 940, in which an operating system program and various programs(e.g., a battery pack abnormality diagnosis program or battery packtemperature estimation program) are recorded, an input/output interface930, which provides an input interface and output interface between abattery cell module and/or semiconductor switching element, and acommunication interface 920 capable of communicating with the outsidevia a wired/wireless communication network. As described above, acomputer program according to the present invention may be recorded inthe memory 940 and processed by the microcontroller 910 so as to beimplemented as a module for executing each of function blocksillustrated in FIG. 3.

A battery pack which directly controls a battery is shielded using ametal housing in order to prevent invasion or interference by anexternal signal. If the battery pack is shielded with a metal housing,communication in the battery pack may be easier than that outside thebattery pack. Therefore, the above-described configuration of thepresent invention is cost effective in implementing a network technologyin the inside of a battery pack, and may prevent external invasion orinterference using only a relay or a slave battery management systeminstalled at a boundary of a metal housing.

In the present disclosure, the term “an embodiment” or various modifiedexpressions thereof indicate that specific features, structures, andcharacteristics related to this embodiment are included in at least oneembodiment of the principle of the present invention. Therefore, theterm “in an embodiment” and various modified expressions thereof shouldnot be construed as indicating the same embodiment.

All of the embodiments and conditional examples disclosed herein areintended to assist those skilled in the art with understanding theprinciple and concept of the present invention, and, thus, those skilledin the art could understand that the present invention can beimplemented in modified forms without departing from the essentialcharacteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodimentsdisclosed herein should be considered to be not limitative butillustrative. The scope of the present invention should be defined notby the above description but by the claims, and all differences thatfall within the same scope as the claims should be construed as beingcovered by the present invention.

1. A battery system, comprising: a battery pack comprising a metalhousing capable of accommodating a plurality of battery modules; aplurality of slave battery management systems configured to manage theplurality of battery modules; and a master battery management systeminstalled outside the metal housing and configured to wirelesslycommunicate with a first slave battery management system among theplurality of slave battery management systems, wherein the first slavebattery management system, which is configured to communicate with themaster battery management system, is installed at a boundary of themetal housing so as not to be shielded with the metal housing.
 2. Thebattery system of claim 1, wherein a plurality of other slave batterymanagement systems, other than the first slave battery managementsystem, are arranged and shielded in the metal housing.
 3. The batterysystem of claim 2, wherein: a first antenna for wirelessly communicatingwith the plurality of slave battery management systems arranged in themetal housing is installed in a portion of the first slave batterymanagement system, which is arranged in the metal housing; and a secondantenna for wirelessly communicating with the master battery managementsystem is installed in a portion of the first slave battery managementsystem, which is arranged outside the metal housing.
 4. The batterysystem of claim 3, wherein the first slave battery management system isfurther configured to communicate with the plurality of other slavebattery management systems arranged in the metal housing through achannel selected by frequency hopping.
 5. The battery system of claim 4,wherein the first slave battery management system is further configuredto communicate with the master battery management system through asingle channel or a channel selected by frequency hopping.
 6. Thebattery system of claim 3, wherein the first slave battery managementsystem is further configured to: communicate with the plurality of otherslave battery management systems arranged in the metal housing through asingle channel; and communicate with the master battery managementsystem through a channel selected by frequency hopping.
 7. The batterysystem of claim 5, wherein the battery system is installed in a vehicle.8. A slave battery management system included in a battery packcomprising a metal housing capable of accommodating a plurality ofbattery modules, the slave battery management system comprising: a firstcommunication unit configured to receive a signal from a plurality ofother slave battery management systems arranged in the metal housing; asecond communication unit configured to receive a signal from a masterbattery management unit arranged outside the metal housing; acommunication control unit configured to individually control the firstcommunication unit and the second communication unit so that: the secondcommunication unit transmits a signal received from the plurality ofother slave battery management systems to the master battery managementsystem; and the first communication unit transmits a signal receivedfrom the master battery management system to at least one of theplurality of other slave battery management systems; and a batterymanagement unit configured to manage at least one of the plurality ofbattery modules, wherein the slave battery management system isinstalled at a boundary of the metal housing.
 9. The slave batterymanagement system of claim 8, wherein the communication control unit isfurther configured to control to transmit/receive a signal to/from theplurality of other slave battery management systems through a channelselected by frequency hopping.
 10. The slave battery management systemof claim 9, wherein the communication control unit is further configuredto control to transmit/receive a signal to/from the master batterymanagement system through a single channel or a channel selected byfrequency hopping.
 11. The slave battery management system of claim 8,wherein the communication control unit is further configured to controlto: communicate with the plurality of other slave battery managementsystems through a single channel; and communicate with the masterbattery management system through a channel selected by frequencyhopping.
 12. The slave battery management system of claim 8, wherein: afirst antenna for wirelessly transmitting/receiving a signal to/from theplurality of other slave battery management systems arranged in themetal housing is installed as the first communication unit in a portionof the slave battery management system, which is arranged in the metalhousing; and a second antenna for wirelessly transmitting/receiving asignal to/from the master battery management system is installed as thesecond communication unit in a portion of the slave battery managementsystem, which is arranged outside the metal housing.
 13. The slavebattery management system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of otherslave battery management systems, arranged in the metal housing, arecapable of communicating with the master battery management system onlyvia the slave battery management system.
 14. The slave batterymanagement system of claim 13, wherein the slave battery managementsystem is mounted in a vehicle.
 15. A communication method by a slavebattery management system installed at a boundary of a metal housing ofa battery pack, the metal housing accommodating a plurality of batterymodules, the communication method comprising: measuring a state of atleast one of the plurality of battery modules; transmitting/receiving asignal to/from each of a plurality of other slave battery managementsystems installed in the metal housing; and transmitting/receiving asignal to/from a master battery management system installed outside themetal housing, wherein, when transmitting a signal to the master batterymanagement system, a signal received from the plurality of other slavebattery management systems and a signal related to the measured stateare transmitted together.
 16. The communication method of claim 15,wherein, in the operation of transmitting/receiving a signal to/fromeach of the plurality of other slave battery management systems, thesignal is transmitted/received to/from the plurality of other slavebattery management systems through a channel selected by frequencyhopping.
 17. The communication method of claim 16, wherein, in theoperation of transmitting/receiving a signal to/from the master batterymanagement system, the signal is transmitted/received to/from the masterbattery management system through a single channel or a channel selectedby frequency hopping.
 18. The communication method of claim 15, wherein:in the operation of transmitting/receiving a signal to/from each of theplurality of other slave battery management systems, the signal istransmitted/received to/from the plurality of other slave batterymanagement systems through a single channel; and in the operation oftransmitting/receiving a signal to/from the master battery managementsystem, the signal is transmitted/received through a channel selected byfrequency hopping.